Reliable and practical, the bank card is the most popular means of payment by the French. But it is not infallible for all that. Your credit card no longer works? Here are 8 common reasons why your precious sesame can be refused And our advice to remedy it.
Blank card, payment refused or incorrect code: when one of these messages appears on the payment terminal, the anxiety rises quickly. In the worst case, your account may have been hacked. But, it is also possible that the origin of this rejection is less problematic and easier to solve.
1. Your card is no longer valid
Since the end of 2015, the maximum validity period of a bank card is 4 years. But in practice, most cards expire after 2 or 3 years. Once the fateful date passes, no more payments or withdrawals are possible. Your card stops working and your bank sends you a new credit card, unless you expressly object.
2. Your card is new
For security reasons, a new bank card is always deactivated when you receive it. So if someone intercepts the mail containing your card, they can’t use it. Even for online or contactless purchases. This is also the reason why your confidential code is sent in a separate mail. To activate your new card, simply make a withdrawal from any ATM.
3. Your card is damaged
According to a survey carried out by Ifop in November 2019, 4 out of 5 French people never go out without their credit card. But force to carry it everywhere, your card may wear out before its time. If distributors and POS terminals systematically display the words mute card, the chip on your card may be scratched or demagnetized. Contact your bank to order a new one.
4. You entered the wrong PIN
Unable to remember your card code. Is it 4061… or 6140? Unless it’s 6410? After 3 unsuccessful attempts, the sentence falls: a message informs you that your card is permanently blocked. This is a security measure to limit the risk of fraud. In the meantime, you are good to order a new credit card. If in doubt about your code, rather than struggling and risking your card being blocked, you can also contact your bank to ask for your secret code to be reissued.
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5. You have exceeded your withdrawal or payment limits
To protect your finances, your payments and withdrawals are capped. The amount of these weekly limits for withdrawals and monthly limits for payments varies according to the cards. To find out the ceiling of your credit card, consult your account agreement, visit your personal space or contact your advisor. If necessary, these ceilings can be temporarily increased.
6. You have exceeded your authorized overdraft limit
Your account is in the red? If you have exceeded your overdraft authorization, the bank may decide to block your bank card. Contact your adviser as soon as possible to regularize your situation. You can try to negotiate a temporary increase in your overdraft limit. But in case of refusal, no choice: to unlock your credit card, you must top up your account.
7. You have blocked or locked your card
Many banks now allow you to configure your bank card from your personal space. Among the features offered, you can…
- Enable or disable contactless payment, online payment, and foreign transactions.
- Temporarily lock your card.
- Oppose your bank card.
Consider therefore checking whether the malfunction of your card is not linked to a parameter error in your personal space.
8. You have a systematic authorization card
You have a Visa Electron or a Mastercard balance check that you want to draw to pay in a highway page. The transaction may not go through.
The so-called offline machines – as may be the case with terminals in underground car parks, certain drink vending machines or even cash desks or petrol stations – cannot check that you have enough money on your account to authorize the transaction.
Gold, this authorization is essential to validate the payment with a balance check card. This therefore leads to the automatic rejection of the transaction. To avoid this inconvenience, make sure you have some liquid on you.